Spotlight ... In The Beginning!

Lately, I've been deeply invested in uncovering the exact birthplaces of my ancestors and extended family.  This pursuit has been spurred by the realisation that familial accounts of birthplaces were often misleading or outright incorrect.  

Though verifying these details has sometimes required purchasing official birth records - an expensive endeavour - I find immense satisfaction in knowing I am uncovering and preserving the truth about precisely where my ancestors' and relatives' stories actually began.

The Start of My 'Beginnings' Quest

I started this recent journey of discovery with the exact beginnings of my parents and their siblings.  

In this post however, I will only share some of the interesting details uncovered in relation to the births and birthplaces of my mother and a couple of her siblings, because it led to a further discovery - an intriguing story about someone who is not a relative, but who's impressive story I'd love to share.

Accessing birth records through the Queensland Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths has been a valuable resource, albeit with limitations.  Currently, only birth records up to 1925 are available, so I've only been able to locate records for three of my maternal grandmother's eight children:  my uncle Edmond James O'Donnell, my mother Margaret Brigid Connors nee O'Donnell, and my uncle Maurice Owen O'Donnell. 

Upon initially receiving these records a few years ago, I really only gave them cursory glances.  Recent deeper dives, however, have revealed fascinating insights.

Birthplaces and Surprising Details

The birth record of Edmond, my grandmother Sarah O'Donnell nee McCane's first child, lists his birthplace as "Kyburra, Bowen-Ayr Railway."  

At first glance, this might sound as though he was born at a railway station!  Not so.  Edmond was born at home on his parents' farm near the Kyburra siding, along the Bowen-Ayr railway line.   

This entry highlights how rural life during the 1920s shaped the recording of important events in my grandparents lives.  They didn't live in a town.  They lived in a farming community that was recognised and named according to the nearest important landmark - the railway siding where the farmers loaded their produce onto trains for shipment to markets elsewhere in the state.

So this home birth provided me with a very interesting insight into how a fact like "where born" was completed by my grandparents on their child's birth record.  An interesting aside is what's recorded in the 'witnesses' column further along on the record.  

There are three possibles for an entry in this column.  

1. is for the name of a medical attendant (usually a doctor).  

2. is for the name of a nurse attending the birth.   

3.  is for the name or names of any other witnesses (such as family members - husbands, aunts, grandmothers etc.)

Immediately I noted that my maternal great grandmother, Margaret McCane nee Farrell, was listed as the attending 'nurse'.  

This indicates she acted as a midwife during the birth of her own grandchild.   This role within families would have been quite common for women in her era.  Many would have gained hands-on experience assisting relatives and neighbours in childbirth.  My great grandmother Margaret had first-hand knowledge, having witnessed her mother giving birth to her siblings when she was 14 and 21 years old, and having given birth to seven children herself.

In addition, Margaret lived on a farm that was located quite close to daughter Sarah's home.  This proximity to her daughter and son-in-law's farm further cemented her role as a supportive presence during childbirth. 

Along with all of that, the tradition of midwifery appears to have run in the family.  My great grandmother's sister, Helen Ann Davies nee Farrell, had made a career of it, operating as a midwife after her husband's death in 1911.  No doubt, Margaret and her sister Helen would have had long conversations about childbirth over the years, and this combined wisdom would have comforted my grandmother Sarah during the delivery of her first-born.

When Sarah gave birth to her second child, my mother Margaret O'Donnell, in 1923, the birth record lists her birthplace as "Broadlands, Ayr-Bowen Railway", which essentially means that she was also born at home on the family farm, just like her older brother Edmond.   Instead of using 'Kyburra' as the recognisable local landmark, my grandparents used the name often used for the area around the Kyburra siding.

 

The role my great grandmother Margaret played in the birth of this grandchild of hers was once again listed as 'nurse'.  By this time, my great grandmother was aged 56, supporting her daughter (my grandmother) Sarah once again with the birth of a child.

Shifting Traditions

When my grandmother Sarah gave birth to her third child however, things had changed.

It was 1925 by then and the birth record for my uncle, Maurice Owen O'Donnell, lists his birthplace as "Palm Cottage, Poole Street, Bowen".  This means that my grandmother Sarah had travelled almost 70 kilometres / 43 miles to the nearby town of Bowen to give birth.

The name "Palm Cottage" intrigued me and I wondered what sort of place this was!  I also noticed that the witness listed for this birth was not my grandmother Sarah's mother (my great grandmother Margaret) as before, but someone named Nurse Amy Field.

I realised in that instance that my grandmother had travelled to what was called a "lying-in hospital" run by a midwife named Nurse Field.

Uncovering Nurse Amy Field's Legacy

My previous research into the history of the midwifery career of my maternal great-grandaunt, Helen Ann Davies nee Farrell (mentioned before as the sister of my great grandmother Margaret and therefore the aunt of my grandmother Sarah) had uncovered the fact that she had been running her "lying-in hospital" for around 23 years by this stage.  

(Her story can be found here:  The Story of Helen Ann Farrell )

It was not common practice for women to give birth in hospitals back in the early 1900s.  The beginning of many babies' lives happened in a "lying-in hospital", which was a facility run by a private midwife in her own home.  Pregnant women would go there just before the birth of their baby and remain there throughout labour and for several days afterwards, supported by the midwife.

It would seem highly likely that my grandmother Sarah had received advice from her aunt Helen about the benefits of giving birth at a highly regarded establishment like Nurse Field's 'Palm Cottage'.

My interest had been piqued!  I was curious about Palm Cottage and I embarked on a research journey to learn about Nurse Amy field.

Immediately, I found that she had been mentioned in a blog post written by Trisha Fielding, a professional historian and writer who has worked at my local university, James Cook University.  Trisha Fielding is a Special Collections Library Officer there, and is a published author of quite a number of books about aspects of North Queensland history.

The post from Trisha's blog North Queensland History is titled NQ Midwives - "Invisible Heroines" and there is a great photo of Nurse Field at the top.

The author of this post, Trisha Fielding, goes on to say:

"Born in Bowen in 1879, Amy Louisa Wilcox Field trained as a nurse in Warwick for three years under Matron McNamara and later nursed in private homes in Bowen and Proserpine. ....  In 1908 she opened a private hospital in Bowen called Palm Cottage, where, by the time of her retirement in 1936, more than 2,000 children had been born. .... Nurse Field died in August 1939, at the age of 68, only three years after retiring from nursing."

There was an excerpt from a newspaper obituary included in this post as well, so I went off to Trove (Australia's free online research portal located at the National Library of Australia) to see what I could find in the newspaper archive.

In the Bowen Independent, dated Friday 28th of July 1939, this obituary appeared:

It was followed by this "Mother's Tribute":

An article published in the Townsville Daily Bulletin, dated Monday the 24th of July 1939, mentioned that from Bowen's early years in the late 1860s, up until 1922, there had been around 948 successful births in the town, but by 1936 (when Nurse Field had retired), the number had passed 2000!

That particular article also stated that "She had a marvellous record.  Her patients always returned".  

Historian Trisha Fielding had described Nurse Field as one of the "invisible heroines" of North Queensland's history, and this sentiment was echoed in contemporary newspaper articles, praising her exceptional record and the loyalty of her patients.

A Broader Perspective

The shift from home births on rural farms to seeking care at facilities like Palm Cottage highlights the evolving practices of childbirth in the early 20th century.  Discovering these details has enriched my understanding of not only my family's history, but also the broader context of maternal care in rural northern Australia.  It has also connected me to remarkable individuals like Amy Field, whose contributions deserve to be remembered and celebrated.

I now wonder if Palm Cottage might appear on the birth records of my other maternal aunts and uncles.  Did my grandmother Sarah return to Nurse Field's care for the birth of her subsequent children?  This question is a tantalising thread I intend to follow in my ongoing beginnings research.

I'm joining Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge.

The prompt for this week's challenge is:  In The Beginning.

Anyone who wishes to join the challenge, please click on this link:  Generations Cafe (Facebook Group)

The Story of Maurice Patrick O'Donnell / Memories ... September 10

This post tells the story of my maternal Grand Uncle, Maurice Patrick O'Donnell  (1892 - 1965).

Our common ancestors are:  Edmond O'Donnell and Bridget Burke.

I'm publishing this post on the anniversary of his birth.

 Anniversary  of  a  Birthday:

(also for my 'Family Anniversaries' page)

This is the only photo I have of Maurice - 
cropped from my grandfather & grandmother's wedding photo.

• Maurice Patrick O'Donnell was born on the 10th of September 1892.

• He was born at home on James Street, in Toowoomba, Queensland to Irish-born immigrants, Edmond O'Donnell and Bridget Burke.

• Maurice would have grown up listening to the Irish accent in his home.

• He was the youngest of five children born to Edmond and Bridget, although there were only three older siblings still living when Maurice was born.

• Sadly his older brother, John Patrick, had died four years before Maurice was bought into the world.

• Maurice's father Edmond died in January of 1893, just four months after Maurice was born, so Maurice never got to know his biological father.

• His mother, Bridget O'Donnell nee Burke, was left widowed with a 4-month old baby, a 2-year old daughter Mary Margaret, a 5-year old son James (my grandfather) and an 8-year old daughter Kate.

• Maurice's mother Bridget became the licensed victualler of the Free Settlers Hotel in Toowoomba after the death of her husband Edmond, and worked very hard to support her young family.

• Maurice gained a step-father when he was 2 years old, as his mother re-married a man named Morgan Joseph O'Brien.

• At the age of 3, Morgan became an older brother as Bridget and Morgan welcomed their son, also named Morgan Joseph, to the world.

• Tragically, when Maurice was only 5 years old, his older sister Catherine, known as Kate, died after suffering Bright's Disease (kidney disease) and falling into a coma.

• Maurice's childhood, teenage years and early adult years were spent supporting his mother with the busy day-to-day running of the Free Settlers Hotel.

1917 Australian Electoral Roll

• By 1917, when Maurice was aged 25, he was living and working on farmland at Armstrong Creek, near Kyburra in the Gumlu area, with his older brother James (my grandfather).  The brothers had left their home and family in Toowoomba and travelled 800 miles to the north where opportunities to own and farm you own land had opened up.

• Maurice worked alongside his brother James on the farm for at least six years, until shortly after James was married.

Maurice's brothers' wedding day 1921
(photo contributed by Terry & Carmel O'Donnell)

• Maurice was the best man at his brother's wedding in June of 1921 when he was 28 years old.  The photo above shows the wedding party: - back row:  Maurice Patrick O'Donnell (groom's brother), Susan Mary Bidgood nee McCane (the bride's sister)

         - front row:  James O'Donnell (groom) and Sarah Mary Josephine McCane (bride).

• Once his brother had married and had bought his new wife to the farm, Maurice moved out and moved on. 

Australian City Directories for 1936

• For a period of around twenty years, he worked primarily as a labourer in the area around Brandon, near Ayr in northern Queensland.  My guess would be that he worked as a labourer on the many cane farms in the area, as that was the primary industry there at the time.

• Maurice's mother Bridget died in early 1937, when Maurice was 44 years old.  

• By this time, Maurice's brother James and his wife Sarah were still working their farm and raising a family of eight children.  I have no doubt Maurice and his brother James remained close throughout this whole time, and I'm sure I'd be right in supposing that Maurice helped out around the farm as often as possible, and spent lots of time at his brother's home enjoying every moment of being a favourite uncle.

Australian Electoral Roll for 1943

• By 1943, when aged 51, Maurice had returned to Toowoomba.  He was assisting his sister and half-brother with the running of the Southern Hotel, but he spent most of his time running the family farm situated on property not far from the hotel.

• Maurice married in Catherine O'Brien nee Murphy, in February of 1946 when he was 53 years old and Catherine was 46.  He became the step-father of Catherine's daughter Joan.

• Maurice lived the remainder of his life in Toowoomba and died in 1970, aged 77.  His wife Catherine has passed away just two years before, in 1968.

• Sadly, whilst I know that Maurice was buried beside his wife Catherine, there is no mention of him on the small headstone located at the Toowoomba Garden of Remembrance.

• Maurice was survived by his brother James (my grandfather), although he passed away just four years later, and was survived his sister Mary Margaret, who sadly died just a year after Maurice.  Their step-brother Morgan Joseph O'Brien had passed away in 1965.

The Story of James O'Donnell

This is the story of my maternal grandfather, James O'Donnell (1887-1974), known as Jim.

James O'Donnell
Photo contributed by Terry and Carmel O'Donnell

In the year of my Grandpop's birth, 1887, work began on the construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris; Anne Sullivan began teaching a 6-year old blind and deaf girl named Helen Keller; Britain was celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria; Australian swimming legend Annette Kellerman was born and Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show opened in London.

Toowoomba, early 1880s.  Item held by John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.  In the public domain.

James O'Donnell was born in October 1887 in Toowoomba, Queensland.  

His birth certificate records his birthplace as 'The Showgrounds', which I suspect is not commonly sighted on birth records.  What exactly does that mean?

Back then, I think the old showgrounds was a place where itinerant workers, poverty stricken, unemployed or homeless people could live, and it's highly likely they would have lived in tents or temporary shanty structures. Perhaps there were actually little houses erected around the edges of the showgrounds, but I doubt that.  I'm intrigued to know what it would have been like, living at the showgrounds.

James's older brother and younger sister were all born at the Toowoomba Agricultural Showgrounds, but not his oldest sister or youngest brother, so it seems there was definitely a period of about five years when the family appears to have been in dire straits and were living in a place of makeshift housing.

My grandpop James's parents, Edmond O'Donnell and Bridget Burke, were Irish immigrants who had both arrived in mid-1883.  They had come from County Kilkenny, disembarked at Brisbane and had then travelled on to Toowoomba.  At that time my great grandfather Edmond had an older brother somewhere in Australia, and my great grandmother Bridget had a much older brother in Toowoomba; so there was some family here when they arrived.  It doesn't seem though that any of those family members were doing well and were in the position to help set up Edmond and Bridget.

When my grandpop James was born, his father Edmond was aged 25 and his mother Bridget Burke was 36.  

That, even now, could be considered a bit of an age difference, and I assume it might have been considered unusual back then as well.  Whilst it was not unheard of for the man to be considerably older, the woman being over 10 years older may have raised some eyebrows.  Perhaps it escaped anyone's notice. Edmond might have looked older than his years, or Bridget may have looked younger than hers! 

James was the third of five children born to Edmond and Bridget.  

Catherine (known as Kate), the eldest child, was born in 1884, just outside Toowoomba in a place named Aubigny.  

The second child, John, was born in 1886 at the showgrounds.  He died in 1888, when my grandpop was less than a year old.  On the death certificate John's name was recorded as 'James Patrick' which was an error.  Parents don't usually give two sons, born one after the other, the same first name.

Mary Margaret was born in 1890 at the showgrounds, when James was 3 years old. 

Maurice Patrick was born in 1892 at James Street, when James was aged 4.

In a cruel twist of fate James's father died the following year, in January 1893, having only been in Australia for 10 years.  His demise is a sad tale, which I've written about in this post:  The Story of Edmond O'Donnell 

At the time of his father Edmond's death, James was 5 years old.

Bridget O'Donnell's Free Selector's Hotel, Toowoomba 1894 -
that's probably Bridget, daughter Kate and son James standing in front of the sign
(Photo contributed by Terry and Carmel O'Donnell)

James's mother, Bridget, was now widowed with 4 children aged between 1 and 9; having already lost a son.  She became the licensed victualler of a hotel, not long after the death of her husband, obviously in an attempt to provide a fairly stable source of income so she could take care of her family.  She re-married the following year, in 1895, so James had a step-father at the age of 7.  Then nine months later, James's step-brother, Morgan Joseph, was born.

In 1897, aged nine, James was attending school in Toowoomba.  Research led me to the Queensland School Pupils' Register, kept by the Queensland Family History Society, where James's name appears on the Toowoomba South Boys' School's admission register.  He was admitted to that school in March of  1897, just five months after his ninth birthday.  I have not yet found out whether or not he attended school prior to this, nor have I found out when he finished his schooling.  Most children at that time left school around the age of 12. 

The year after James began school at the Toowoomba South Boys' School, in 1898, his eldest sister Catherine (Kate) died at the age of 13.  The causes of death recorded on the death certificate included: Bright's disease (which is a kidney disease), general dropsy and coma. Kate had been ill for at least 6 months, so that must have taken its toll on all the members of the family.

You would think that the death of his father and eldest sister within five years, must have had a profound effect on James.  Experiencing such losses at such a young age would have resulted in so many raw emotions, which in those days you were not encouraged to articulate!  It would probably have been a case of "chin up and carry-on" and remaining stoic on the outside.

Putting faces to names:  This collage shows James (top left), James's parents (bottom right) and his surviving sister (mid left) and brother (bottom left).

In the years between the death of his father and his early adult years, I can only suppose what James's life would have been like as I never had the opportunity to know him well and listen to his stories.  I would think James would have spent most of his time working in the hotel (which was quite a considerable establishment) helping out his mother.  He would have developed all sorts of handyman skills.

When researching your family tree, census data can be very helpful sometimes, and that was certainly the case when I began researching my Grandpop many years ago.  At that time, I had very little knowledge of him, other than a few memories from my childhood.

As I researched and dug deeper, I found quite a number of census records for him over a very long period of time.  These records helped me put together a rough outline of his movements and profession from the age of 25.  I was then able to build a picture of a man I didn't have the opportunity to get to know well.

James spent his 20s living in his home town of Toowoomba.

The census record for 1912 confirmed that James was still living in Toowoomba, his birthplace, and living at the Southern Hotel on Ruthven Street.  That was the second hotel run by his mother, Bridget.  She had re-married many years before this, and was now Bridget O'Brien.

Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, circa 1910

At this time James was aged 25, and his occupation was recorded as 'plumber'.  Whilst he had learnt many skills working around his mother's hotel, he had obviously gone on to learn a trade.

A fascinating fact that emerged from this record was that there were quite a number of O'Donnells listed in the 1912 census who seemed to be living and probably working at hotels in Toowoomba. There are 6 (old enough to vote) who were living at the Engineers' Arms Hotel.

I wonder about the relationships amongst all these O'Donnells.  Were they related?  Was James aware of these people and did they know each other?  

The 1913 census records appears to be similar, except that there are now more O'Donnells of voting age in the Toowoomba hotel business.  Irish immigrant O'Donnells running pubs!  What a notion!

It appears that James left his home town just before he turned 30 and moved quite a long way up north, to a tiny little spot on the map named Kyburra. That's a distance of nearly 1,300 kilometres / 800 miles!  More wondering!  What was it that led him to that location so far from his home?

The answer may lie in the advertisements printed in newspapers in Queensland between 1915 and 1916.  

These ads stated that there was crown land available for selection and occupation in several areas to the north of Bowen, around Gumlu and Guthalungra. 

Kyburra was a railway siding at Broadlands, close to Guthalungra, on the rail line between Ayr and Bowen.  I don't think there was ever a township there, just farms dotted around the area.

The 1917 census records showed that James (aged 30) and his younger brother Maurice (aged 25) appeared to have taken up the offer to select and occupy a parcel of crown land in the area close to Kyburra.

Along with census records at this point in time, I also came across an intriguing notice in the September 23rd edition of the 1916 Telegraph newspaper (out of Brisbane).

The notice showed that a man named James O'Donnell of Kyburra, via Bowen; was applying to bring a parcel of land under the Real Property Acts of 1861 and 1877.  This meant he was making an application to have a deed or title over a parcel of land changed from crown leasehold to freehold.

James was making this claim for land at Aubigny, near Toowoomba. How did he end up with the deed or title over this land?  Aubigny was the place where his oldest sister Kate had been born, but the family had moved on and didn't appear to have returned.

Was he attempting to secure the property for himself?  That seems unlikely as he was already living on property further north.  Was he securing the freehold lease for another member of his family?  It certainly wasn't for his eldest sister who had been born there, as she had died 18 years before this.  Was it for his mother?  She was still running the Southern Hotel in Toowoomba but perhaps having farming land was possibly considered a good investment.  I do wonder why though Bridget didn't purchase the property herself.  Could it have been for his younger sister, Mary Margaret?  Again, perhaps James considered it a good investment for his only sister as their mother was then in her mid-60s and would not always be able to provide a living for all the family.  All conjecture of course!  

Was James successful in his claim?  Who ended up settling on that land?  It's all a mystery, yet to be solved. 

What is known for certain is that, according to the 1917 and 1919 electoral roll records, James and his brother, Maurice established a farm together on a selection of farm land at Armstrong Creek, Kyburra.  

You will see James and his brother Maurice in the photo below, taken on the day of James's wedding.  

After this marriage, Maurice is no longer recorded as living at Armstrong Creek, Kyburra.  He left the farm he had begun with his brother, and moved to the township of Brandon, a few miles north of Kyburra.  Many, many years later, the 1950s census records show Maurice living back in Toowoomba, and his occupation is listed as 'farmer'.

James O'Donnell and Sarah McCane on their wedding day
Contributed by Terry and Carmel O'Donnell

In 1921 James married Sarah Mary Josephine McCane.  The wedding party included James's brother Maurice (seen behind the seated groom) and Sarah'a sister Susan (seen standing behind the bride).  

The bride Sarah was the daughter of Owen and Margaret McCane, who had a farm nearby at Molongle Creek.  Owen and Margaret were a well-known couple in the area and their daughter Sarah had been a teacher at the local school before she had been transferred to other schools in the Bowen region.  At the time of their marriage, James was aged 33 and Sarah was 26.

Sarah had to give up her job (as married women were not allowed to continue with their teaching career at that time)  and she moved onto James's property at Armstrong Creek.  

There is mention of what James was growing on the farm at this time in an article in The Bowen Independent, dated December 17, 1921.

The article discussed the need for particular growers close to Kyburra to have their own railway siding so they could load their crops and ship them off to market.  Mr. J. O'Donnell is described as a "new beginner" who has about "20 acres of cane to be cut" the following year.  Obviously one of the crops James was growing at this time was sugar cane.

James and Sarah settled into family life on the farm and they went on to have a family of 8 children over a period of 15 years. 

Edmond James was born in 1922.
Margaret Brigid (my mother) was born in 1923, when James was 35 years old.
Maurice Owen was born in 1925, when James was 38.
John Joseph (known as Jack) was born in 1926, when James was 39.
James Thomas (known as Jim) was born in 1928.  James Snr. was aged 41.
Edward Martin (known as Eddie) was born in 1931, when James was 44.
Marcella Therese was born in 1934 when James was aged 47.
The youngest of the family, Terence William (known as Terry) was born in 1937, when James was 50 years old.

Census records show that James and wife Sarah lived on the farm at Kyburra until the mid-1940s. I knew that the family moved to nearby Bowen, but I was not aware of the circumstances around that move.

Then, a few years ago, my Uncle Terry explained what had happened.  Grandfather James and Grandmother Sarah made the decision to walk off the farm.  Unfortunately, after so many years of toil and hard work, they felt that the farm could no longer sustain a living and their only choice was to leave.  They were not able to sell the farm, so they had to make a new start with very, very little!

Shortly after this revelation by my uncle, an interesting piece of information surfaced when I was scouring the Trove online digitised newspaper resource.  A very small 'For Sale' item was listed in a local newspaper.  It appeared on page 2 of the Townsville Daily Bulletin, dated Thursday, 24th of May, 1923.

The item began with the number 800 ...

"800 ACRES, Improved cane farm; joining siding and dip. Horses, harness, implements.
Particulars, J. O'Donnell, Kyburra, Ayr, Bowen Line."

Now there weren't many J. O'Donnells living on a property at Kyburra in 1923, so I think I can safely assume it was an item placed by my Grandfather James O'Donnell.  

It appears he was the person to contact if anyone was interested in buying a large-sized cane farm.  The newspaper article does not indicate if this was land James owned or if he was looking after the sale for another party.  I am assuming however that it was his parcel of land.  Given that this 'for sale' notice was pasted not long after the birth of his first child, and only two years after his wedding, it seems that eking a living out of the property to provide for his growing family was proving to be very difficult right from the start of his married life. Obviously he wasn't able to sell the farm at that time, and amazingly stayed there for another twenty years or so!!!

Interestingly, further searches for my grandfather's name on the Trove online newspaper site resulted in my discovery of a number of newspaper items that paint a picture of a man vitally interested in improving the conditions of farm life and the living conditions for his family at Kyburra during the time they all lived on the family farm.

1925

Notes for the Wangaratta Shire Council meeting, published in the Bowen Independent newspaper in May 1925, indicate that there had been a complaint by "Mr. O'Donnell, Kyburra" had been tabled and the results was "that the road complained of by him would receive attention by the road party which would be in the vicinity shortly."  While there is no mention of which particular road was the subject of James's complaint, I would assume it was the rough dirt road that led to his property.

1928

It seems James was still making complaints to the Wangaratta Shire Council about parts of the road in the Kyburra area in 1928.

1929

In early 1929, James's name appeared in a local newspaper.  There was quite a long item published in May providing all the details of a civil court case held before a Supreme Court sitting.  

James was attempting to sue the Beak Pastoral Company, which owned a station named Rocky Ponds adjacent to James's farm, for the trespass of the Company's cattle onto his land.  James was suing because the extensive damage he claimed the Beak Pastoral Company's cattle caused to his tomato crop that year.  James stated he had complained in person and in writing to the Beak brothers and had sought reasonable compensation, but was met only with a denial of the allegations.

James was obviously left with the conviction that he needed to seek compensation via the courts.  His case went before the Supreme Court Civil Sitting in Townsville in May of 1929.  Unfortunately, the jury could not reach a majority and were discharged.

The case dragged on for a few months until it seems that James withdrew the allegations and ended up having to pay the court costs.  In the end, he must have felt totally defeated, as he not only lost money on failed crops, but he also had to pay the extra unexpected costs of an attempt to seek justice through the courts!  I suspect it would have bought James down quite low and would have taken quite some time to recover from that blow!

Electoral records for the years between 1925 and 1934 show a few O'Donnells living in electoral district of Herbert, in Bowen region.  Again, I wondered!  What was the relationship between these O'Donnells ?  Was there any relationship at all?

1925  James and Sarah ... and someone called Michael.

1928  James and Sarah ... and two others named Eric James and Flora Jane.

1930  James and Sarah ... and that couple, Eric James and Flora Jane again.

1932  James and Sarah ... but Eric James is no longer living with Flora Jane!  What happened to Eric?

1934  James and Sarah ... and Flora Jane is still around.

Between 1936 and 1943 (the war years)  James and Sarah were the only O'Donnells (of voting age) left living in the division of Herbert.

It was during this time that James's mother, Bridget, passed away.  She died in 1937, when James was 49 years old.  Given that James had been living so far from home for 20 years, I do wonder if he had seen much of his mother during that time.  Had he visited Toowoomba at all since he had left?  Had there been any communication, such as letter writing, between them?  Did James travel to Toowoomba for her funeral?  I'm afraid I don't have the answers to those questions, but I do so hope that 'yes' is the answer to them all.  

So, James and Sarah stuck it out on the farm at Armstrong Creek for quite some time. I imagine their children would have had a wonderful time growing up on the property.  The freedom and adventure associated with living there was probably a source of great delight for the six boys and two girls.

I know that my Uncle Terry, the baby of the family, has very fond memories of living on the farm.  Exciting, unexpected things happened.

One of Terry's fondest memories:

"Jim and the elder boys often had the job of helping travellers negotiate the boggy crossing on Armstrong Creek, using the work horse to pull the vehicles through to make the crossing.  On one such occasion, the job was so difficult that the owner of the Buick declared he had had enough, and left the bogged Buick in our hands.  After much effort, the vehicle was towed back to the farm.  As no one in the family could drive, it was a slow process with many circuits of the family home completed before the Buick was driven on the road.  This vehicle was used by the family when we moved to Bowen, and served us well for many years.  Eventually it was purchased for restoration by a car enthusiast from Sydney." 

Uncle Terry recalls the final decision to walk off the farm after many very difficult seasons with lots of hard work, and very little return to support the family.

"Pumpkins were sent off to the southern markets with great expectations for a reasonable return.  However, the payment received by the family after all expenses were covered was a 3-pence stamp.  That certainly influenced the decision to finally leave the farm and seek work in Bowen in the plumbing industry, a trade that Dad (James) had learnt in his earlier years, and one that enabled him to support his family until his retirement."

The photo above was taken about 1945, soon after the move from the farm to a rented house on Richmond Road, in Bowen.

Back row L to R: James Thomas (Jim),  John Joseph (Jack), Margaret Bridget (my Mum), Maurice Owen (Morrie), Edmond James.

Front row L to R:  Terence William (Terry), mother Sarah O'Donnell (nee McCane), Marcella Therese, father James O'Donnell, and Edward Martin (Eddie). 

By 1949, census records show that James was living at Dalrymple Street in Bowen, with his family.  He was aged 62, working as a plumber.  His three eldest boys had begun working for the railway by this time, and his eldest daughter (my Mum) was still living at the home with the family.  The four younger children were not of voting age at the time - Jim would have been 20, Eddie 18, Marcella 15 and Terry 12.

Here's a great shot of James and his boys, taken at Dalrymple Street in the early 1950s.

The photo above would have been taken sometime around the mid 1950s, depicting a family Christmas in the home at Dalrymple Street. That's James at the front, with his six sons and two daughters.

The 1958 census record shows that James (now aged 71) and Sarah are still living at Dalrymple Street; along with two of their sons, James Thomas and John Joseph; and their two daughters, Margaret Brigid (Mum) and Marcella Therese.

There seems to be other O'Donnells who've now also moved to Bowen ... Sidney William and (perhaps) his wife Helen Louisa Eliza, who are living at Gillies Street.  Relatives?

James lost his youngest daughter Marcella, in early 1961, when he was aged 73.  His half-brother, Morgan Joseph O'Brien died in 1965.

In 1968, James lost his second daughter, (my Mum) Margaret.  He was aged 80.  His wife Sarah died just two years later in 1970, after they had been married for 48 years.  On the same day that he lost his wife, his brother Maurice also died.  His sister Margaret Mary died the very next year, in 1971.

Within the space of 10 years he had lost his wife and both his daughters, along with all of his siblings.  These losses must have weighted heavily on him, but he continued with quiet endurance and resilience, living a quiet life.

James O'Donnell died in 1974, when he was 86 years old. (The age on the headstone is incorrect). He was buried at the Bowen Cemetery.

James's death certificate stated that he died of cancer and complications of bronchopneumonia.  He was survived by his six sons.

Grandpop, at my Mum's wedding in 1959, at the age of 71.

All my memories of Grandpop are attached to the home at Dalrymple Street in Bowen.  It was a big old Queenslander, with a closed-in verandah around the sides and front.  Underneath the house was Grandpop's domain.  How I wish I had a photo of the house!!  Perhaps one day a family member will read this and remember a photo of the Dalrymple Street house lying around somewhere!!

There was a room down there that was his workshop, and I vividly remember him pottering around in there fixing up old push bikes.  There were old broken bike frames hanging from the beams under the house.  Old fridges, car bodies and other bits and pieces were all stored under the house.  It was a great place for a child to explore, and the best place ever for a game of hide-and-seek!

I also remember the chook pen out in the back yard, and the fruit trees growing everywhere, especially custard apple trees, and the banana plants.  I'm pretty sure there was a choko vine and rosella plants growing out there as well, and I think Grandpop was the gardener!

Grandpop was 72 years old by the time I was born, and I have only a few memories of him.  I remember a quiet, gentle but rather robust old man.  There were no lengthy conversations with Grandpop whenever I visited.  You had to head off downstairs to find him, and very often he was secreted away in his workshop, where you dared not enter!

My brother's memories are very similar:

"I'm like you and don't have many memories of Grandpop.  One thing I do remember is Dad saying that Grandpop replaced all the plumbing in the house not long after he and Mum had bought it.  Most of it is still here. 

I remember all of the stuff under the house.  Sometimes he would be working at the work bench using an old kerosene-filled heater gun and an (iron) soldering iron to join pipes, and sometimes to replace the spokes on the old bike wheels.  I remember the smell of old oil in the tool room, and around the work bench. 

One time Mum took us over to Grandma's and Grandpop's place in the old Morris, and Mum couldn't turn the motor off (pre-firing).  After a while, Grandpop came down, lifted the bonnet, took one of the wires off a terminal, closed the bonnet, then went back upstairs ... all without saying a word.  (Grandpop was a man of few words!)"

Contributed by Mark Connors

Contributed by Mark Connors

Old soldering gear like Grandpop's 









James will forever live in our memories as a gentle, hardworking man whose life was shaped by hardship, loss, perseverance and family bonds.



Special Note to any family members:  If you have memories to add, photos or information to share, can I graciously ask that you do so.  If there are events that are not quite correct, do please let me know.  Please use the comments box below or email me.  All contributions are invaluable and will provide future generations with a story to truly treasure.